Finally, the rain stopped and the wind died down so we were able to get the 2012 season going. First stop was Spearfish Lake in Klickitat County. It was a little cold in the morning; low forties, but the wind was calm and the fish were biting so it's all good.

The May "supermoon" was still shining bright.

Looks like one more calm morning before it's back to the 20-23MPH wind so we are going to hit it again tomorrow. Got to get it when you can around here.

The weather has been a little rainy and windy, so you have to get out there between storms. The rain isn't the big problem, the wind is. We are stuck on the low elevation lakes and rivers, the roads to the lakes higher in the mountains are still covered with snow. Matter of fact, it snowed 9" up there today.Got out there before dawn to beat the wind:

The water in the Columbia River and adjacent lakes has really warmed up and the trout, that like cold water, have gotten a bit sluggish and aren't biting very well. The smallmouth bass in the river and largemouth bass in the lakes connected to the river appear to be spawning, so might be some bass fishing coming up.

For trout, we need to head up into the Cascade Mountains, but the roads to the lakes are still covered in snow.....

The snow has finally melted and the roads are clear to the higher elevation lakes in the Cascade foothills. The snow has melted, it's summertime, but that doesn't mean the rain has stopped; this is the Pacific Northwest after all.

The fishing was not as good as it usually is, maybe they are still cold from the long winter in the mountains. Good news is that the fish that were biting were healthy Eastern Brook and German Brown trout.

The great thing about the PacNW is that there are so many fishing opportunities; rivers, lakes and ocean. Summertime visitors have flocked to the campgrounds and popular lakes so we head to the local's spots.One fish that is almost always ready to bite is the smallmouth bass. There's plenty of them in the Columbia River and surrounding lakes. They are great fighters on light tackle.

The Columbia River is the best place to fish for smallmouth bass

If it's too windy for the Columbia, or you are (justifiably)sketched out by the dangerous currents and eddies of one of America's largest rivers, there are lakes connected to the Columbia by culverts; the same fish that are in the river are in the lakes. These lakes provide some protection from the notorious Columbia Gorge wind.

Even in the midsummer heat with low water levels, the smallmouth bass are there for a fight

As an extra PacNW photo bonus, check out the salmon smolts at the Oakridge, Oregon fish hatchery learning how to swim upstream

There are many different species of fish in the Columbia River; salmon, steelhead, walleye, trout and lots of smallmouth bass. Perfect for kayak fishing, you can launch places regular boats cannot and you can reach spots shore anglers can't reach. You have to paddle around looking for a good bass hangout, when you do, the fishing is pretty good.In the summer, you have to get started early before it gets too hot

The bass have moved from the shallows to the deeper water that is cooler

These pics are swesome....makes me wanna ditch this Arizona heat and move on up to Portland with my sister

The PacNW is a story of two seasons. The summers are fantastic, maybe the best in the whole United States. The winters, well, they are long, damp and gray. The fish are always there, but it takes a lot more to get up and go fishing when it is 42° and raining....

The days are getting shorter and the nighttime temps are dipping into the forties, that means winter is right around the corner. Once the water in the Columbia River gets too cold, the smallmouth bass will pretty much go into hibernation, salmon runs will be over, the weather will get treacherous and it will be time to pack the kayak away for the winter, put on the thermals, waders and GoreTex and go after steelhead in the rivers.Looks like a few days ahead of calm winds and nice weather so we'll give the bass a last chance to come aboard the Hobie.We recently took a trip east to the John Day River, a great place for kayak fishing.

We didn't catch a lot of fish, but the ones we caught were nice sized and great fighters.The smallest one of the trip got caught right under the John Day River Bridge

The best fish of the trip bit along the rocks on the Columbia River just east of the John Day rivermouth

It's been a long and fish-filled summer but autumn is passing very quickly and, unfortunately, the 2012 kayak fishing season is pretty much over. The fish we normally fish for from the kayak have not been biting; typical for this time of year and the weather is getting colder and wetter.We got in one last day on the Columbia; nice day, but the fishing was very slow.

It's been raining off and on for the past week or so and snow is forecast for early next week, so the kayak is in the garage for the winter.

Still a little bit of fishing left to do before winter sets in.

You could use a kayak to fish these rivers, but when you can cast from one side of the river to the other, it's more hassle than it's worth. By the time you unload, drag the kayak to the river(usually in the dark) and launch, you could have already hooked a couple fish.Looks like the hoping for springtime to come has begun....